Repair vs Replace Dishwasher: Break-Even Calculator 2026

The repair wins today — but the new machine wins the decade

A dishwasher repair is a bet on the old machine: you pay the repair cost, and the machine gives you its remaining life. Replacing is a bet the other way: you pay the new price, minus the water, energy and detergent the new machine saves over that same life, plus the cost of getting rid of the old one. Repair total = R. Replace total = P − S × L + D. The difference is replace − repair: positive means REPAIR wins, negative means REPLACE wins. On the defaults — repair $250, new dishwasher $900, years left 5, saving $45 a year, disposal $40 — the repair total is $250.00 and the replace total is $715.00, so REPAIR wins by $465.00. Cost per year: repair $50.00 vs replace $143.00. But look at the 10-year lens: repair now, then replace at the end of the remaining life, costs $965.00; replace now costs $490.00 — REPLACE wins by $475.00 over 10 years. The new machine's savings run the full decade, while the repaired machine's savings stop when it dies. The 10-year rule: after the repair the old machine runs its remaining L years, then a new one runs the rest of the decade.

At the defaults — repair $250, new dishwasher $900, years left 5, saving $45 a year, disposal $40 — the repair total is $250.00, the replace total is $715.00, REPAIR wins by $465.00, the cost per year is $50.00 for the repair vs $143.00 for the replacement, the break-even repair cost is $715.00, the break-even new price is $435.00, the break-even remaining life is 15.33 yrs (exact 15.3333), the break-even annual saving is $138.00/yr, the break-even disposal is none (-$425.00), and the 10-year lens is $965.00 vs $490.00 — REPLACE wins by $475.00 over 10 years. Check the identities: repair = R; replace = P − S × L + D; difference = replace − repair; break-even repair cost = replace total; break-even new price = R + S × L − D; break-even remaining life = (P + D − R) / S; break-even annual saving = (P + D − R) / L; break-even disposal = R − P + S × L; 10-year repair-then-replace = R + P + D − S × (10 − L); 10-year replace-now = P + D − S × 10. Rounding convention: totals are computed from unrounded values, so rounded parts may differ by a cent from their rounded sum.

The worked example, line by line

Setup: repair $250, new dishwasher $900, years left 5, saving $45 a year, disposal $40.

Line 1 — the repair total. Just the repair: $250.00.

Line 2 — the replace total. $900 − $45 × 5 + $40 = $900 − $225 + $40 = $715.00.

Line 3 — the difference. $715.00 − $250.00 = $465.00 in favour of repairing.

Line 4 — cost per year. Repair: $250.00 ÷ 5 = $50.00 a year. Replace: $715.00 ÷ 5 = $143.00 a year.

Line 5 — the break-evens. The repair would have to cost $715.00 to tie. The new dishwasher would have to cost $435.00 to tie. The old machine would have to last 15.33 yrs (exact 15.3333) for the saving to pay for the new one. The new machine would have to save $138.00/yr to tie. There is no break-even disposal cost — it would be -$425.00, so repairing wins even with free disposal.

Line 6 — the 10-year lens. Repair now, then replace after 5 years: $250 + $900 + $40 − $45 × 5 = $965.00. Replace now: $900 + $40 − $45 × 10 = $490.00. REPLACE wins by $475.00 over 10 years — the verdict flips.

Reverse: the break-even repair cost is $715.00; a $715 repair costs $715.00, exactly tying the replace total. The break-even new price is $435.00; a $435 dishwasher costs $250.00 to replace, tying the repair. The break-even remaining life is 15.33 yrs (exact 15.3333); at 15.33 yrs the replace total is $250.15 (REPAIR wins by $0.15), at 15.34 yrs it is $249.70 (REPLACE wins by $0.30) — 15.33 is the nearest. The break-even annual saving is $138.00/yr; at $138.00/yr saving the replace total is $250.00, tying the repair. The break-even disposal is none — the disposal cost that would tie is -$425.00; repairing wins even with free disposal. The 10-year lens: repair-then-replace $965.00 vs replace-now $490.00 — REPLACE wins by $475.00.

Every branch, checked

Repair $100: repair $100.00, replace $715.00 — REPAIR wins by $615.00. A $100 repair is a bargain: the repair costs $100.00 against $715.00 to replace, so REPAIR wins by $615.00.

Repair $500: repair $500.00, replace $715.00 — REPAIR wins by $215.00. Even a $500 repair still wins: $500.00 against $715.00, so REPAIR wins by $215.00 — the repair is close to the break-even of $715.00.

Repair $800: repair $800.00, replace $715.00 — REPLACE wins by $85.00. At $800 the repair costs more than replacing: $800.00 against $715.00, so REPLACE wins by $85.00 — the verdict flips once the repair passes the $715.00 break-even.

New dishwasher $500: repair $250.00, replace $315.00 — REPAIR wins by $65.00. A $500 new dishwasher costs $315.00 to replace, so REPAIR wins by $65.00 — a cheap new machine narrows the gap but does not close it.

New dishwasher $1,500: repair $250.00, replace $1,315.00 — REPAIR wins by $1,065.00. A $1,500 new dishwasher costs $1,315.00 to replace, so REPAIR wins by $1,065.00 — the pricier the replacement, the stronger the case for repairing.

2 years left: repair $250.00, replace $850.00 — REPAIR wins by $600.00. With only 2 years of life left, replacing costs $850.00 against a $250.00 repair, so REPAIR wins by $600.00 — but the 10-year lens is closer, because the new machine's savings run longer.

8 years left: repair $250.00, replace $580.00 — REPAIR wins by $330.00. With 8 years of life left, replacing costs $580.00 against a $250.00 repair, so REPAIR wins by $330.00 — a longer remaining life makes the new machine's saving worth more, so the gap shrinks.

15 years left: repair $250.00, replace $265.00 — REPAIR wins by $15.00. With 15 years of life left, replacing costs $265.00 against a $250.00 repair, so REPAIR wins by $15.00 — the gap is nearly closed.

16 years left: repair $250.00, replace $220.00 — REPLACE wins by $30.00. With 16 years of life left, replacing costs $220.00 against a $250.00 repair, so REPLACE wins by $30.00 — the verdict flips once the old machine has more than 15.33 years left.

Saving $0/year: repair $250.00, replace $940.00 — REPAIR wins by $690.00. With no saving at all, replacing costs $940.00 against a $250.00 repair, so REPAIR wins by $690.00 — and there is no break-even remaining life, because no amount of life makes the new machine pay for itself.

Saving $100/year: repair $250.00, replace $440.00 — REPAIR wins by $190.00. At $100 a year of saving, replacing costs $440.00 against a $250.00 repair, so REPAIR wins by $190.00 — the saving has to reach $138.00 a year before the two tie.

Saving $150/year: repair $250.00, replace $190.00 — REPLACE wins by $60.00. At $150 a year of saving, replacing costs $190.00 against a $250.00 repair, so REPLACE wins by $60.00 — the savings alone nearly pay for the new machine, and the verdict flips.

Disposal $0: repair $250.00, replace $675.00 — REPAIR wins by $425.00. With free disposal, replacing costs $675.00 against a $250.00 repair, so REPAIR wins by $425.00 — free disposal is not enough to flip the verdict, because the break-even disposal cost is -$425.00.

Disposal $100: repair $250.00, replace $775.00 — REPAIR wins by $525.00. With $100 of disposal, replacing costs $775.00 against a $250.00 repair, so REPAIR wins by $525.00 — a pricier haul-away only strengthens the case for repairing.

What the defaults assume

The model assumes the repair restores the dishwasher to its full remaining life — if the repair only buys a year, use 1 year of remaining life, not 5. It assumes the new machine's saving is steady every year; the $45 a year covers water, energy and detergent — a modern efficient dishwasher uses less water per cycle and heats it more cheaply. It assumes the disposal fee is what you actually pay — many retailers haul the old machine away free, so set it to $0 when that applies (at $0 disposal the replace total is $675.00 and REPAIR still wins by $425.00). It assumes the 10-year lens buys exactly one replacement machine in each path — a machine that lasts longer than 10 years would change the second decade, not the first. With a repair cost of $0 the verdict is REPAIR wins by $715.00. With 1 year of life left and no saving, the break-even life is — (no saving, so no life ever ties — a model-level edge; at the calc level a saving of $0 is valid input and the break-even-life field renders —). Rounding convention: totals are computed from unrounded values, so rounded parts may differ by a cent from their rounded sum; the reverses are nearest-value solutions, and the exact unrounded figures (15.3333) are stated wherever the rounded figures appear.

Output · formula · meaning

Who uses this

• The homeowner quoted $250 for a pump repair: they learn the repair wins by $465.00 today, because the old machine still has 5 years of life — and they check the $800 branch (REPLACE wins by $85.00) before authorising a bigger repair.
• The renter whose dishwasher died with 2 years left on the lease: they learn the repair wins by $600.00 on the short lens, but the 10-year lens favours replacing — so they weigh whether they will still be in the same home in 10 years.
• The energy-conscious buyer eyeing a $150-a-year saving: they learn the new machine nearly pays for itself outright — the replace total is $190.00 and REPLACE wins by $60.00 — so they check the $100-a-year branch (REPAIR wins by $190.00) to see how much saving the flip actually needs.
• The landlord replacing dishwashers across several units: they learn the break-even new price is $435.00 — any dishwasher under that price beats repairing — and they check the disposal-$100 branch (REPAIR wins by $525.00) before budgeting haul-away.

Accuracy & limitations

The math is exact arithmetic on your five inputs: repair = R; replace = P − S × L + D; difference = replace − repair; break-even repair cost = replace total; break-even new price = R + S × L − D; break-even remaining life = (P + D − R) / S; break-even annual saving = (P + D − R) / L; break-even disposal = R − P + S × L; 10-year repair-then-replace = R + P + D − S × (10 − L); 10-year replace-now = P + D − S × 10. The 4-decimal exact is shown where the rounding matters: the break-even remaining life is 15.3333 (shown as 15.33 yrs); at 15.33 yrs the replace total is $250.15 (REPAIR wins by $0.15) and at 15.34 yrs it is $249.70 (REPLACE wins by $0.30). What the model cannot do is predict how long your dishwasher will actually last — the remaining-life input is your best guess, and the break-even life of 15.33 years tells you how long it would have to last for the new machine's saving to pay for it. For the refrigerator version, see the repair vs replace refrigerator calculator; for the washer version, see the repair vs replace washer calculator; for the dryer version, see the repair vs replace dryer calculator. This is a calculator, not repair advice.